One of the more warming pleasures of the Olympics is that it makes stars of ordinary folk; people who talk, think and act like you and me except for their raging desire for sporting excellence. People like Rebecca Adlington.

Moments after winning the women's 400m freestyle, which briefly scrambled her senses and irreversibly changed her world, Adlington was asked to describe what it was like to win a gold medal. She acted just like most of us would, spouting excited cliches such as: "It feels great, I can't believe it, I'm over the moon!", and grinning wildly. She had little time to contextualise before being shepherded off the stage to make way for the American men's 4x100m relay team.

This afternoon, however, we were able to meet Adlington in a scrunchier, more informal setting. Hacks who didn't know who she was 48 hours ago crowded busily around her, asking about boyfriends and domestic arrangements, fast cars and Jimmy Choos. It took all of 30 seconds for her to have them eating out of her hand.

"Yes, I've still got my Vauxhall Corsa but I really want to change it for an Audi A3," she sighed. "Even though Jeremy Clarkson slagged them off as chavvy I don't care. I also like the BMW1 series - Dan Davies has one so I'm aiming high."

She was just as honest when asked about her victory, saying: "I saw Katie Hoff go at 250m and I thought: 'Oh gosh, she's gone'. I just tried to stay with Jo [Jackson]. I was so tired. But in the last 50m I thought 'right, go!' and it paid off."

"To be on the podium with my best friend was just incredible," she added. "And to hear the Great Britain team looking down on me and singing the national anthem - badly! - was just great. When Jo and I walked into the team meeting everyone stood up and applauded.

"For someone like Mark Foster, who has competed in five Olympic Games, to do that was unbelievable. I've had the gold medal on all afternoon. I even wore it to dinner and when I was on the internet." The homeliness didn't end there: she revealed that when she phoned home all she heard were screams from her parents and two sisters as they passed the phone to one another and back again.

Interviewing sports stars is often a torturous business: they are cynical and suspicious and have PhDs in media training. They believe we are going to stitch them up; occasionally they are right.

Today though was different. Everyone was on the same side. For me the most touching and revealing moment of all came after the interview had ended. As the rest of the press pack shuffled out of the mixed zone, Anita Lonsbrough - the last British lady to win an Olympic gold back in 1960 - walked up to Adlington and told her: "I was in tears for you, I was so happy!" Immediately they chatted away like ordinary folk, like you and me.

"You know I thought I'd lost it, I always lose those close ones," Adlington replied. "I was convinced that I had [Federica] Pellegrini yesterday and I didn't. And I thought Hoff had got me today too. I was so glad to be wrong." Their brief chat ended with a hug and Lonsbrough telling Adlington: "Well done and enjoy the moment - it's been too long."

There won't be much time for that, not yet anyway. There's the 4x200m freestyle relay and the 800m freestyle to look forward to, and the possibility of two more gold medals too. Her life will never be normal again, but hopefully that's all that will change.